Tale of two towns: Yuma and Punta Colonet

April 12, 2007 - 11:11PM

There are two communities hundreds of miles apart - living in two different countries, speaking two different languages and living two different lifestyles.

But they are more similar than what either can imagine.

Punta Colonet and Yuma are agricultural-based towns with residents who have unanswered questions about a
port project that could connect the two communities and change the dynamic of both within the next decade.

Conversations about the proposed shipping port began in 2002, but residents of both communities started hearing about the projects just last year when businessmen began showing up in their backyards, asking questions and looking around.

Now Yuma is facing a possible railroad cutting through its county that would carry goods to and from the proposed port.

And Punta Colonet is on the verge of losing its small agriculture community to a city built from the ground up to support the port and its business.

Mexican officials discuss Punta Colonet port